Josef Koudelka

‘Magnum Photos at 70’ — celebrating 7 decades of visual storytelling

On Feb. 6, 1947, four photographers — Robert Capa, Henri Cartier-Bresson, George Rodger and David “Chim” Seymour — toasted the founding of what would become the world’s most influential artist collective over a celebratory magnum of champagne in New York’s Museum of Modern Art. In the past 70 years, 92 photographers have contributed to the story of Magnum Photos, and today 49 photographer members continue to chronicle the world, interpreting its people, events and issues through visual storytelling.

“Magnum Manifesto” traces the ideas and ideals behind the founding and development of the cooperative. It explores the history of the second half of the 20th century through the lenses of 75 masters, providing a new and insightful perspective on the contribution of these photographers to our collective visual memory.

The exhibition is a co-production between ICP and Magnum Photos. It is curated by Clément Chéroux, formerly photography curator at the Centre Pompidou, now senior curator of photography at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, with Clara Bouveresse and ICP associate curator Pauline Vermare.

“Magnum: 70 at 70,” a NeueHouse exhibition of 70 pictorial and historical photographic icons, celebrates the diversity of the Magnum photographers bearing witness to major events of the last 70 years. Including seminal works by Susan Meiselas, Paolo Pellegrin, Martin Parr and Christopher Anderson, the exhibition spans the globe and covers regional events such as the Arab Spring, South Africa under apartheid and the recent migration crisis. (Magnum Photos)